Mother's Day

Mother's Day traditionally or at least in theory begins with breakfast in bed, but there are often problems with that. For one thing Emily gets up earlier than everyone else. But the kids encouraged her to get back into bed and gathered up the cards they'd be bringing them. Jack had wanted to make coffee, which I of course had made about an hour earlier, but instead made an English muffin. Unfortunately it fell through the toaster rack and started a small fire at the bottom of it, so breakfast in bed was scrapped.

Emily did get coffee, though, and thoughtful handmade cards and gifts from the kids. It's heartening how they approach the day, really trying to make it special for her. There are hiccups along the way, usually involving kids complaining about something or other, but their hearts are usually in the right places.

I got donuts and they were enjoyed by all. We then went out car shopping, test driving what will possibly be our next car, the Honda Pilot. (Kate: "Can it fly?" No, but that would be pretty cool.) The kids at auto dealers are kind of amusing, sitting in every car and discovering all the various whistles and bells. Kate found a secret compartment from the back seat to the trunk in one and I had a brief moment of worry that she'd get stuck in a car and we'd end up having to take it apart to get her out. Nope!

After car-shopping we came back home and played some baseball in the backyard. It was a sunny day unlike we've had in weeks, it seems, so we played some catch and practiced hitting. There are usually ups and downs, say if Kate is struggling, and Jack and I both give her advice, and she starts to get frustrated. We started playing running bases, a baseball-related game that both Jack and Kate really enjoy, but Kate only likes the running part of it, and gets pouty if she's doing the other part. It being Mother's Day, Emily obviously didn't care for that, and we wrapped up the game abruptly, telling Kate exactly why.

Kate, realizing her error, apologized. More; she drew a picture for Jack with little sad faces saying she was sorry. Sweet.

They played catch with each other, at one time catching an impressive 19 in a row. They developed a game on the largely forgotten playground swingset, using chalk to write notes, game titles, and descriptions. They climbed up on the roof together and planned and talked. An hour later, they were still out there, talking and playing together. The best Mother's Day present of all.